Rating: 
Summary: Very Rewarding, but not for the easily offended
Review: First things first: If you are the kind of person that cannot stand straight-shooting, opinionated types of people, then you probably will not like this book. The irony is that you may like Miles Davis, however, because his musical influence casts a huge shadow. But that's the beauty about artists like this; the person and the art are often divergent.Juicy tidbits about most of the influential jazz composers and players of the mid twentieth century, some wonderful insights about American race relations (including some absolutely hilarious observations about Washington D.C. and politicians' wives), and some poignant stuff on the theory and practice of making jazz music (including Miles' cutting down classical players), make this book well worth the money and some of your time. A true American original....a man who was damn-near worshipped every place else but in his home country, just like a lot of other opinionated Black men in American history. flm
Rating: 
Summary: KNOCK OUT!
Review: Firstly, anyone that really loves a good autibiography filled with raw emotion can appreciate this book. True, avid Jazz fans will love it, but it's not tailor made for them. This story lacks the technical jargon that only jazz fanatics can dismenate. It explains the personal ups and downs that Miles endured during his career. The eager prodigy who burst upon the bebop scenes in the 1940's with giants like Charlie Parker and Billy Eckstine is chronicled with an astute visualation. Miles almost seems to be impressing his macho image upon Troupe at times. We are constantly reminded of Miles' "no nonsense" attitude on several matters. This book can be both disturbing and hilarious at the same time. Miles depiction of jazz icons Eckstine and Parker is filled with colorful "witty" dialogue. I truly loved this book. I can't imagine the excitement the author must have felt absorbing this wonderful story!
Rating:
Summary: The man: his life and his music
Review: For the uninitiated (like me, a few months back), when you first approach the figure of Miles Davis, only looking at him from a musical standpoint, you can't avoid but be marveled at his brilliance, at how he invented and reinvented himself and jazz at large once and again, something that deserves the uttermost respect. But when you delve into his life, you realize that his was one that was filled with demons: living on the edge, pimping for money to finance his heroin addiction, struggling to get by at times, to come back victorious at others, with his 'act' cleaned up to put together a group of brilliant musicians and turn jazz on its head once more. I picked up "Miles" a couple of weeks ago, and I haven't been able to put it down. The style of the book is raw, but direct: granted you can't go past a few paragraphs without reading him curse his way through a memory of an episode of his life, but this is his personal account, without a filter, without political correctness, which is good, because that is certainly one thing Miles was not: politically correct. Complementing in a very balanced way facts about his life with their ups and downs, with very vivid and detailed descriptions about gigs and sessions all through his life, and never skipping the "ugly" parts of the story, this book has given me a deeper respect for a man that could overcome his demons to come out victorious and more creative time and again.
Rating:
Summary: Davis' Life History Catalogues Many Miles
Review: For the very few that felt Miles Davis was a saintly soul, they should be required to read this venomous, but arresting, biography detailing his early history in the clubs to the years of experimentation and critical panning. Miles Davis was arrogant, egotistical, vain, abusive (to himself and others), mainly uncomplimentary of other artists' talents, and foremost, a musical genius of unparalleled comparison. To hear him play was to make one almost forget how undesirable of a personality he was. This book is a must read for lovers of autobiography, for lovers of jazz's unique history, and most importantly, for those who want to find out more about the man behind the horn, regardless of what they may discover. This is a spectacular autobiography, behind only Kinski's "All I Need is Love" for outright pulp content and total audacity.
Rating:
Summary: The great Miles Davis.
Review: I first bought this book in 5th Grade and it taught me some new words and catch phrases to say the least. Miles was an interesting man. Not really egotistical at all, but at the same time a very difficult person if you got on his bad side. He's definitely a funny guy sometimes, but he also gets serious when talking about his great albums, his drug addictions, his wives, and his great friends and colleagues such as Gil Evans, John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, Bill Evans, Philly Joe Jones, Art Blakey, Jackie McLean, Sonny Rollins, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Walter Bishop, Clifford Brown, Max Roach, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Paul Chambers, Ron Carter, Tony Williams, Kenny Dorham, Jimmy Heath, John McLaughlin, Sonny Fortune, Gil Coggins, Wynton Kelly, Mike Stern and countless others. He also speaks on some people he made enemies with such as Cecil Taylor, Ornette Coleman, Archie Shepp, Milton Berle and quite a few others. He dishes dirt on a bunch of people, but does so in an interesting and truthful way. Quincy Troupe penned this autobiography and did an amazing job. He was the real poet lauriette this year. I met him this past year and he is an amazing writer and speaker. This book is really Miles, no strings attached. He holds back almost nothing, and sometimes spills more information than the reader had originally wanted to know (like his first orgasm, his thoughts on masturbation, and his slight infatuation with Latin and Asian women, plus more). But this book also has a lot of musical information and really shows who the man with the trumpet and ominous look on his face really is.
Rating:
Summary: The great Miles Davis.
Review: I first bought this book in 5th Grade and it taught me some new words and catch phrases to say the least. Miles was an interesting man. Not really egotistical at all, but at the same time a very difficult person if you got on his bad side. He's definitely a funny guy sometimes, but he also gets serious when talking about his great albums, his drug addictions, his wives, and his great friends and colleagues such as Gil Evans, John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, Bill Evans, Philly Joe Jones, Art Blakey, Jackie McLean, Sonny Rollins, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Walter Bishop, Clifford Brown, Max Roach, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Paul Chambers, Ron Carter, Tony Williams, Kenny Dorham, Jimmy Heath, John McLaughlin, Sonny Fortune, Gil Coggins, Wynton Kelly, Mike Stern and countless others. He also speaks on some people he made enemies with such as Cecil Taylor, Ornette Coleman, Archie Shepp, Milton Berle and quite a few others. He dishes dirt on a bunch of people, but does so in an interesting and truthful way. Quincy Troupe penned this autobiography and did an amazing job. He was the real poet lauriette this year. I met him this past year and he is an amazing writer and speaker. This book is really Miles, no strings attached. He holds back almost nothing, and sometimes spills more information than the reader had originally wanted to know (like his first orgasm, his thoughts on masturbation, and his slight infatuation with Latin and Asian women, plus more). But this book also has a lot of musical information and really shows who the man with the trumpet and ominous look on his face really is.
Rating:
Summary: A must read for all!!
Review: I got this book for Christmas and I think that it was one of the best presents that I got. Not only does it give a rich history of jazz music but Miles tells it like it is and he doesn't apologize about it. After reading this book I really felt like I knew the man personally. This book is not for the faint at heart. And as someone wrote previously it is not for the fans of pc(political correctness). I just say that you have to look at the time that Miles lived in and what it was like to not only be Black during that time but to be a Black man. So if you are not willing to try to understand this then maybe you should skip this book.
Rating: 
Summary: underneath, he was an ugly man, but his music is still great
Review: I had listened to the wonderful music of this man for over 20 years before reading this book. He was my initiation in the endlessly engrossing world of jazz and his strikingly engineered appearence served as a way to distinguish myself from my adolescent peers who preferred rock stars. I own at least half of the albums he made and still find new things in them whenever I listen to them. There is genius in what he created. Unfortunately, reading his story in his own words took more away than it gave me. Miles Davis is, in short, a horrible person: full of bitterness and hatred, despising women while exploiting them, and narcissistic to his very core. His views are primitive and bigoted, so politically uncorrect that it demonstrates why PC is not all bad! He was also wantonly self-destructive and frequently drug addicted, for which he offers neither lessons nor apologies. The lack of care and humility in the way he reveals all of this is truly stunning and crude, written as it is in a ridiculously self-conscious black jive. He literally embodies the notion that there is a destructive side to all creativity. That being said, the book also offers a fascinating history of jazz, the major movements of which he changed or affected fundamentally at least 4 or 5 times from 1940 to about 1977. It was an amazing career, and a great gift to us all. And in this book, he offers himself up naked and scarred.
Rating:
Summary: you don't have to know anything about music to like this....
Review: I have read many of the reviews here. Most are by people who like Davis as a musician. Because they like his music, they were also interested in his life. Well, you don't have to like jazz or any kind of music to appreciate this book. In fact, if you know nothing of Davis, the book will probably be a lot better because, it is not your typical autobiography. So I recommend this book to everyone, especially those who have merely heard the name mentioned by know little else about him.
Rating: 
Summary: A masterpiece in self-indulgence
Review: I know that Miles Davis is regarded as a legend in music. Whatever. I bought Kind of Blue and have enjoyed it OK. So then I get this autobiography as kind of a follow-up to learn more about him. I've never heard more whining from one individual in my entire life. Bitching, moaning and whining about just about everything. If he's not complaining about the white man he's telling you how he's influenced every musician you've ever heard of. It bugs me all his whining because he was priveleged and born into a fairly wealthy family. It bugs me that all he says about his sons were that they were a disapointment to him, yet he relied on his father well into his 30's. He was probably a bigger disapointment to his sons than they were to him. Maybe Miles Davis was talented, that's not for me to say. But if this book is a reflection of the man, he sures seems like a shallow, selfish, spoiled little boy.
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